Williams Signs

Oxford United are pleased to announce the signing of Australian winger Ryan Williams on loan from Fulham in a deal which will bring him to the Kassam Stadium until January.

Williams, 19, was born in Perth, Australia and began his playing career at local club ECU Joondalup, before following in the footsteps of his bothers Rhys (Middlesbrough) and Aryn (Burnley) and moving to England to pursue a professional career.

He signed for Portsmouth as a scholar in July 2010 and after impressing in the Academy he was given his first team debut on the opening day of the 2011-12 season against Middlesbrough. He went on to make five further Championship appearances for Pompey in the first half of the season and caught the attention of Premier League Fulham with his impressive performances on the wing, moving to Craven Cottage on transfer deadline day in January 2012.

After impressing for Fulham's under-18s and development squad Williams joined League Two leaders Gillingham on loan in January 2013 and in June he represented Australia at the Under-20 World Cup in Turkey, featuring in a 1-1 draw with Colombia and 2-1 defeats to El Salvador and Turkey.

Having impressed in a pre-season friendly against Coventry last Saturday he will go into the United squad for the trip to Portsmouth today for the first game of the season.

Manager Chris Wilder was pleased to welcome Ryan to the club:

"He's a good player and will give us competition in an important area. He has a good pedigree, has pace, and is very highly thought of at Fulham, a club we have an excellent relationship with. He has a really good attitude and I am sure will do very well here."